Recently, wireless devices have been rapidly developed, which requires the use of a battery pack, which can be charged and discharged, as a power source for the wireless devices. Typical examples of the wireless devices may be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless game machine, a wireless sky wave receiver, a laptop computer, etc. The battery pack may have various specifications depending upon the structure or shape of the wireless devices.
For example, a laptop computer uses a battery pack having secondary batteries, which can be charged and discharged, mounted therein as a power source. The battery pack can be separated from the computer body of the laptop computer if necessary.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged view, in part, illustrating a laptop computer with such a battery pack, and FIG. 2 is a typical view illustrating a battery pack locker structure of the laptop computer.
Referring these drawings, a battery pack 1 is constructed such that the battery pack 1 can be mounted in a receiving part 3 provided at the rear bottom of a laptop computer 2. In order that the battery pack 1 can be attached to and detached from the laptop computer 2, a hook 4 protrudes from one side of the battery pack 1, and a locker 5 is mounted in the laptop computer 2 at the position corresponding to the hook 4. At the rear of the locker 5 is mounted a compression spring 6. The upper end of the hook is inclined toward the locker 5, and the front end of the locker 5 is inclined toward the hook 4. Consequently, when a user pushes the battery pack 1 in a direction indicated by a dotted line such that the hook 4 is inserted into an opening 7 of the laptop computer 2, the upper end of the hook 4 pushes the front end of the locker 5. As a result, the locker 5 is moved backward to press the compression spring 6. When the hook 4 is completely inserted into the opening 7, the locker 5 is moved forward by the restoring force of the compression spring 6. As a result, the locker 5 is coupled with the hook 4. In this way, the battery pack 1 is mounted to the laptop computer 2.
When the battery pack 1 is to be separated from the laptop computer 2, on the other hand, the user pushes a switch 8 connected to the locker and exposed from the outer surface of the laptop computer 2 in a direction indicated by an arrow a such that the locker 5 is moved backward toward the compression spring 6. As a result, the locker 5 is uncoupled from the hook 4. While this separation state is maintained, the user pushes the battery pack 1 in a direction indicated by an arrow b. As a result, the battery pack 1 is separated from the laptop computer 2.
Specifically, when the battery pack 1 is to be separated from the laptop computer 2, it is necessary that the user push the locker 5 toward the compression spring 6 using one hand, and, at the same time, the user push the battery pack 1 outward from the laptop computer 2 using the other hand. Generally, two locker structures are provided at opposite sides of the battery pack and the laptop computer in a symmetrical fashion. Consequently, it is necessary that the user push switches 8 using the thumbs of both hands, and, at the same time, the user push the battery pack 1 outward from the laptop computer 2 using the other fingers of the both hands.
As can be clearly understood from the above description, when the battery pack is to be separated from the laptop computer using the conventional locker structure, it is difficult to separate the battery pack from the laptop computer. Furthermore, the laptop computer or the battery pack may fall to the ground during the separation of the battery pack from the laptop computer.
A large number of measures to solve this problem have been proposed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-79019 discloses a locker structure comprising a groove formed in a battery pack and a rod mounted in an electronic device and having a twisting spring such that the rod can be freely rotated at one side of a body of the electronic device, wherein the rod corresponding to the groove of the battery pack is rotated in the rotating direction of the spring such that the battery pack is separated from the electronic device. However, this locker structure has problems in that a large area is necessary to rotate the locker structure such that the battery pack can be separated from the electronic device, and the rotating operation and the separating operation are separately carried out.
Consequently, a technology for fundamentally solving the above-mentioned problems in connection with processes for mounting and separating a battery pack to and from a general wireless device, including a laptop computer, is highly required.